By Mikey Campbell

Published: 10:46 PM EST (07:46 PM PST)

Apple is offering customers who pre-ordered the new 8GB iPhone 4 or the iPhone 4S an extended opportunity until Nov. 14 to buy an AppleCare+ warranty for their device.

Some customers who had pre-ordered a new handset on Oct. 7 through the Apple Store, had reported that AppleCare+ was not available for purchase, TUAW reports. The site had received numerous e-mails from Apple's customers asking how to add the warranty to an existing order, but no definitive answer had been available.

Apple previously announced that the new warranty coverage, which takes the place of AppleCare, would only be available at the time of purchase. The new plan adds, for the first time, coverage of up to two accidental damage claims for $49 an incident.

TUAW said that it had received reports that customers who hadn't been given the option to buy AppleCare+ when they pre-ordered were now receiving emails from Apple allowing them to purchase the extended coverage.

Apple reportedly explained in the email that the warranty will be available for purchase on iPhone 4 (8 GB) and iPhone 4S orders until Nov. 14. It goes on to direct customers to call AppleCare after they receive their devices in the mail.



The message was originally thought to be part of a phishing scheme, but the publication indicated it believes the e-mails are legitimate, citing the fact that the subject line of the message contains the customer's actual order number, and originates from an address within the domain "apple.com."

The report included the entire text of the e-mail received by several of its readers:

Dear Apple Customer,

Thank you for your recent iPhone purchase at the Apple Online Store.

We would like to let you know that every iPhone comes with one year of hardware repair coverage through its limited warranty and up to 90 days of complimentary support. AppleCare+ for iPhone extends your coverage to two years from the original purchase date of your iPhone and adds up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage, each subject to a $49 service fee.

We noticed you weren't given the opportunity to add AppleCare+ to your iPhone. If you would like to extend your coverage for only $99, please reply to this email.

Thank you for shopping with Apple.

Sincerely,
Apple Online Store Team

Apple announced on Monday that it had received a record one million pre-orders for the iPhone 4S in the first 24 hours of availability. Faced with overwhelming demand, both Apple and its carrier partners experienced minor hiccups when launching the pre-orders late last week.